1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning control switch for setting a direction in which conditioned air is to be blown from an air conditioner mounted to the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air conditioner mounted to a vehicle is provided with an air-conditioning control switch for setting a direction in which conditioned air is to be blown. Conditioned air is blown in different directions by operation in a total of five typical modes, the first three being single modes and the remaining two being combined modes: (1) a vent mode in which conditioned air is blown to the upper body of a passenger, (2) a foot mode in which conditioned air is blown to the lower body of a passenger, (3) a defog mode in which conditioned air is blown to the window glass of a vehicle to defog the window glass, (4) a bi-level mode in which conditioned air is blown to both the upper body and lower body of a passenger at the same time, and (5) a defog/vent mode in which conditioned air is blown to both the vehicle glass of the vehicle and the lower body of a passenger.
The air-conditioning control switch used to set these five modes may include five separate pushbutton switches disposed side by side each other in order to set each of the modes, or may be a dial-type switch which can be set and adjusted to at least five rotational angles to set any one of the above-described five modes.
Higher technology vehicles has made it necessary to place various instruments and operating switches on a dash board that provides a limited space, and has thus caused the constant demand for size reduction, without reducing safety and visibility. Accordingly, when pushbutton switches are used, pictures or characters that symbolize the setting modes are formed on each of the keytops, and when a dial-type switch is used, pictures or characters that symbolize the setting modes are formed on each dial memory portion, so that a desired mode can be set without accidentally setting an undesired mode. However, the pushbutton switch keytop arrangement and dial switch scales depend on the vehicle type and the air conditioner type, even for the same manufacturer, so that an inexperienced operator is very likely to incorrectly operate the pushbutton switches or the dial switch, until he gets used to operating the switches or the dial switch.